Beyond Investigation (Episode Name: Behrupiya)
by 23Diya
Summary: A peek beyond the stoic, serious masks of the officers we so love.


**A/N: **Hello everyone, I'm here after a long is a little experiment on my part where I try to see beyond the investigative part of certain episodes of the show and have a little peek into the minds and hearts of our beloved officers.

Oh, and no romance. ;p

HAVE A HAPPY READING!

* * *

BEYOND INVESTIGATION

**Episode Name: Behroopiya**

Daya looked around once again to confirm that no one was following him before sneaking into the decrepit old cottage that Raghu, Abhijeet's informer had told him about. He was one of the few informers who knew both Abhijeet and Daya, to act as a messenger between the two in case of an emergency. He was also the only one who had helped him in finding Abhijeet. Daya clenched his teeth as he remembered the suspicious glances thrown his way by his colleagues. Not that he could blame them, but he had expected at least ACP sir to consider him once.

_"__Daya, ye jo tum Abhijeet ke baare me mujhe itna sab bata rahe ho, iske peeche koi aur kaaran to nahi hai?"_

He didn't think he would be forgetting those words soon. Or ever. He had not expected ACP sir to believe him at once but he had lost all hope to get help from him when this was the conclusion he had reached. He smiled grimly to himself. If this is what ACP sir thought of him, after knowing him for over a decade, then he did not want to know what his colleagues thought of him.

Well, he thought, there wasn't really much left to think. He had met them yesterday only. And they had almost managed to shoot him down. There was no hesitation at all. Rocky had worked wonderfully, planting doubts and fueling their suspicions of him being Rocky, to the level where their hatred went beyond reason. He didn't think under any other circumstance they would've missed the fact that he had purposely missed all shots on them.

His thoughts didn't stop him from searching the place with precision, his mind alert and gun poised to counter any threat. In fact, it helped him to crush the panic that was trying to overwhelm him. He tried to ignore the thoughts of Abhijeet and what condition he might find him in, even if he _would _find him here, and if he did find him, whether he would be…_No! _He did _not _need those thoughts right now. He thought about the criminals again…about Rocky. That was safe…anger was safe. Anger, he could handle.

He took a deep breath and continued searching his way through the cottage. He wished he could call out to Abhijeet but he feared that would alert any criminals that might be hiding in there.

He entered a room where the ceiling was almost falling down. The room was bare except a door. A locked door! Yes, this could be it. Daya rushed forward and quietly unlocked it with a multipurpose knife. The door creaked a bit as it opened. He paused to listen for anyone coming to check, but there was only silence. Sighing, he entered the room.

The room must have been a storage room of some kind, when it was in use, for it was completely bare of anything, even windows. There were only small ventilators on top of the wall on one side and marks of racks on the other walls. One of the wooden beams had fallen down and the wooden partition wall had fallen down on top of it. He looked around but didn't find Abhijeet. A mixed feeling of disappointment and fear had started to settle in now. He didn't think there was much left of the building upstairs to search.

He took one more look around and was about to turn back when he heard a sound. A scratching sound? He gripped his gun more firmly and quietly made his way towards the direction of the sound. It had come from the side of the broken wall. He strained to hear more sounds but there was nothing. Now that he was nearer, he could see that the wooden partition had not fallen by itself. There were signs that told him that it had been done by someone, maybe to hide something behind the unsusceptible place. The knowledge only made him more cautious.

He carefully maneuvered himself around the broken parts and found a small, dark corridor on the other side. It looked like the corridor could cave in at any moment. And there was that scratching sound again. He didn't have a torch on him at the moment, so he took out his mobile phone and its small inbuilt torch to provide him with some light in the absolute darkness. He could see a prone figure lying on the floor. He did not need telling who it was but he still took cautious steps in case it was a decoy. When he reached the figure, he saw that it was the end of the corridor, after which it had caved in. He knelt beside the man and touched his shoulder and gently tuned to face him.

It was Abhijeet. Daya closed his eyes in relief and let out a breadth he had not realized he had been holding. When he opened his eyes again, he patted Abhijeet slightly on the cheek and called out gently, "Abhi…Abhijeet…"

Abhijeet was only half conscious and could barely open his eyes but it still reassured him that he had responded. Daya quickly checked him for any outward injury but finding nothing serious, focused on getting Abhijeet to full consciousness. It would be difficult otherwise to move out of this place. Luckily it didn't take him much time. Abhijeet looked a bit dazed and worn out but there didn't seem to be more than a little pain from the bruises and few cuts he had suffered. He sat up with the help of Daya and leaned on the wall behind.

"Theek ho tum?" Daya asked concernedly, as he put a steadying hand on his friend's shoulder.

Abhijeet only nodded. He tried to speak something but ended up coughing, which caused him to wince in pain.

"Yaha se bahar nikalte hai, car me paani hai."

Abhijeet didn't have to say anything. Daya helped him stand and after taking a moment to steady himself with Daya's support, he looked alright and walked on his own. Daya guided them both through the house. It didn't take them much time to reach Daya's car, which he had parked in the next lane. Daya stilled kept an eye around, just in case, but the area seemed to be completely desolate.

Once they were in the car, Daya passed Abhijeet a bottle of water. He drank greedily and then rested against the seat with his eyes closed. Daya looked on with concern, even as he thanked every God that existed for keeping his friend safe.

"Abhijeet…" Daya called out, starting to worry of his friend's silence.

"Haan Daya?" came a hoarse reply, putting a small smile on Daya's face upon the remembrance of all those times he had received the same answer when he had called out to his friend. And as far as he could remember, his friend had responded to his call every time. He felt his eyes go moist at that thought along with all the restlessness, loneliness and fear he had gone through over the past few days.

He turned back and gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to staunch the flow of emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him. He had pushed forward stoically these past days, focusing single-mindedly on one goal alone- to save his friend. And he had done so despite the suspicion and condemn he could see in the eyes of his colleagues…despite the hurtful words of the only father figure in his life. But now it was useless to try and act that way. Now that he had found Abhijeet, safe and sound, it all came back to him at once, hitting him like a hurricane of emotions.

He still remembered the fear he had felt when he had realized that the person working along them was not his friend, that Abhijeet had been kidnapped; he remembered the disappointment he had felt when ACP sir had denied help, and worse, the pain he had felt when he had spoken of Daya's ulterior motives behind it all; the way he had prayed for his fears to prove wrong as he matched the fingerprints late in the night, and the sudden panic when he realized that he had been right all along, but that now he was also alone. He remembered painfully, ACP sir's retreating voice telling his friends to arrest him, as he rushed from the forensic lab, and how sick he felt when that criminal imposter had pleaded his case in an act of friendliness. Worse than it all was the exalted feeling when he had found the hideout where Abhijeet had been hidden, and the way it was crushed in less than a few hours, when he reached there and found that Abhijeet had been moved from there. The absolute frustration and helplessness that moment had brought with it when he realized that he had been too late. It had felt like another failure…

He was suddenly pulled back from it all by a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder. He took a deep breadth but refused to look at his friend in this weak moment.

"Daya…", the voice was stronger than before. Daya had to respond this time, as he always did to this man he saw as his brother. He quickly pressed his fingers to his eyes to wipe off any tears, then looked up at Abhijeet and met with eyes filled with concern.

"Bahut dara diya tha yaar tumne iss baar", Daya said, attempting a small smile, and was glad to meet with a smile from Abhijeet, even if it was a little sad. At least it was a genuine show of emotion, not the forced smiles and laughter he had seen on Rocky's face…the same face as this man sitting beside him, and yet, he could never think of his friend to have that cruel gleam in his eyes that Rocky had.

"Ghar drop kar deta hu tumhe, doctor ko bhi wahi…" Daya started saying, taking the car keys out.

Abhijeet cut him mid-sentence, "Nahi Daya, ghar nahi, pehle hume Rocky ko rokna hoga. Inn logo ka asli plan ACP sir ko maarna hai, mai to sirf ek zariya tha unn tak pahuchne ka."

Daya shook his head, "Wo sab theek hai Abhijeet…ACP sir ke paas mai jaunga abhi, par pehle tumhe drop ker du. Abhi bhi kamzor lag rahe ho…"

"Itna bhi kamzor nahi hu ki…" Abhijeet cut him again but Daya cut his argument right back.

"Abhijeet!" Daya said a bit forcefully to gain his friend's attention. It worked.

Abhijeet looked at him keenly for a moment and then said softly, "Daya…" When Daya looked at him, he asked just as softly, "Tum akele kyu aaye ho yaha Daya? Baki team nahi aayi backup ke liye? Yaha wo gunde abhi tak ho bhi to sakte the na?"

Daya clenched his teeth and looked away.

Abhijeet sighed, then continued, "Rocky regularly apne sathiyo ko call kar ke updates deta rehta tha. Wo log mere samne hi baat karte the, mujhe taunt karne ke iraade se. Wahi se mujhe inn logo ke asli plan ka pata chala aur…" he paused for a moment to gauge Daya's reaction, and as he looked at him, he said, "aur wahi se mujhe ye bhi pata chala ki humari team tumhe Rocky samajhti hai." He sighed again, looking away himself as he continued in a low, distant voice "Kal wo log bahut khush the, mere saamne aa ker hi party ki…mujhe bataya ki kaise meri hi team ne asli Rocky ke sath milke tumpe goliya chalayi…ye jataane ke liye ki mai jaan kar bhi kuch nahi ker sakta apne dost ke liye. Aur waqai me, jitna bebas mai uss waqt mehsoos kar raha tha, shayad apni puri zindagi me kabhi nahi kiya." He looked at Daya again, who was now silent, "Believe me Daya, mai puri tarah se samajh sakta hu ki aakhri kuch dino me tumne kya face kiya hoga…kitna bebas mehsoos kiya hoga." Daya nodded in understanding at this. Abhijeet said finally, "To tum ye bhi samajhte hoge ki mera jana zaroori hai. Ek to bina proof ke team me koi tumhari baat manega nahi aur dusri…I need to do this. Apne liye hi…abb jab mai asal me kuch kar sakta hu, to mai side me khada ho kar tamasha nahi dekhna chahta."

Daya reluctantly agreed to this. He understood Abhijeet, since he had gone through the same things as him, just in a different way.

"Theek hai Abhijeet." Daya said as he turned on the engine and drove them away from that place.

"Kaha hai sab iss waqt? Aur ACP sir? Wo log aaj hi ke din kuch karne ka plan ker rahe hai Daya." Abhijeet looked worn out, but that didn't stop him from worrying for his friends and senior.

"ACP sir 15 August wale function me gaye hai. Mujhe yakeen hai ki baki sab bhi unke sath hi gaye honge." Daya informed him. "Unhe Rocky se bachane ke liye." He added sarcastically, increasing the speed of the car and racing towards the auditorium where he knew the function was being held. He and Abhijeet, both had been there when ACP sir had received that invitation a couple of weeks ago.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Haan bol, koi dikh raha hai aas paas?" Daya asked his informer. Once confirmed that no one was watching the area, he safely parked his car and got out of the car along with Abhijeet.

They both rushed towards the entrance but Daya, still worried about how tired and worn out his friend looked, made up a quick plan.

"Abhijeet, ek minute." Abhijeet turned to look at him determinedly.

"Mai ja raha hu Daya, hum ye discuss ker chuke hai." Abhijeet said.

"Haan Abhijeet, mai janta hu, tum ja rahe ho." Daya said to calm him down. "Mai sirf itna keh raha hu ki tum side wale entrance se andar jana aur mai samne wale se." Abhijeet started to shake his head in denial but Daya pressed, "Yaar sare entrance cover nahi kiye to wo araam se nikal jayega. Mera waha hona unn sab ko distract karega, unme se koi bhi expect nahi ker raha hoga ki mai yaha pahuch jaunga. Tum usi distraction ka fayeda utha ker, sahi mauke per andar aana. Tumhare aate hi sari baat clear ho jayegi aur…"

Abhijeet chuckled softly, "Ek kaam karte hai…mai saamne se jata hu, ek baar me case khatam. Itne lambe plan ki zaroorat hi nahi, hm?"

"Abhijeet…please…" Daya appealed softly.

Abhijeet shook his head but understood Daya's fears too. And he had to admit that he really was feeling a bit weak after a week's near starvation and lack of water.

"Theek hai…mai tumhare cue ka wait karunga." Abhijeet agreed.

Daya sighed in relief and nodded, "Thanks Abhi." He used the rarely used nickname for his friend to show how much it meant to him at that moment.

Abhijeet smiled and clapped him friendlily on the shoulder. He looked on for a few moments as Daya moved towards the main entrance to the auditorium, not quite able to shake off the sense of foreboding that was starting to grip his heart.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Pain.

That was all he could feel and all he could think of at the moment.

He tried to fight the darkness that was falling over him but it was difficult. But he had to do something. He tried to remember what it was. His mind was quickly losing itself in the darkness but he tried his best to stave it off. His team, he remembered.

Sheer determination to make sure his friends were safe helped him to stand. He turned around and saw his team standing there. The pain flared again, and he looked down at his chest, his instincts trying to make him grab at the wound. But he didn't feel any strength and could only touch it lightly.

He heard someone call him. With the darkness looming over him, and the extreme agony, he couldn't place the voice but it was familiar. He looked up.

His friends were there. They were only a blur in front of him but he could still recognize their forms.

ACP sir…Abhijeet…

Safe.

He had done it.

He felt a sense of deep satisfaction in his mind in that one instant, before he surrendered to the darkness that finally enveloped him completely.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He came back to a semiconscious state with a loud sound.

_A gun shot_, his mind provided him with an answer, even in that state. He could see only darkness in front of him, but there were voices too. Familiar voices.

Someone was calling him. He tried to respond but couldn't. Someone tried to lift him up and pain shot through his body that was partially sinking into a numb state. He wanted to cry out in pain but he couldn't make a sound. He wanted to sink back into the blissful, painless oblivion, but they wouldn't let him.

They were moving him, and it hurt. They kept talking to him; he didn't understand a word they said, yet they kept talking. He tried closing his eyes, but someone patted his cheeks continuously until he opened them again. At this moment, he could neither recognize a voice nor a word said to him, not even recognize the hands touching his cheeks and holding his hands. He just knew one thing-

He was safe.

And that was enough to relax his mind, and he sank into unconsciousness once again.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The next time he regained consciousness, he was well aware of his surroundings. The pain that had engulfed his mind and soul a few hours back was now dull with the effect of the medicines that had obviously been administered to him. His sight was not as focused as usual, but it was definitely better than the last time he had opened his eyes. He could hear the voices around him too, even if he hadn't regained full senses yet. He could hear some words.

"…mushkil hai…bahot der…"

"…abb kya doctor…"

"…batana hoga…"

"Doctor…patient…hosh me…"

He could see someone coming towards him. A doctor, he guessed. They checked him for quite some time before the doctor sighed. He shared a glance with the nurse who was assisting him before turning towards him.

"Aap araam kijiye, mai apke sathiyo ko thodi der me andar bhejta hu." The doctor told him, before he moved outside, leaving only the nurse inside. She took some readings on his chart from the multiple devices attached to him, then left from an adjoining door.

Daya looked at the ceiling and thought about what he had overheard before the nurse had noticed he was conscious. He had no doubt who they were talking about. It seemed like he didn't have much time left for the world. He felt a stab in his heart that had nothing to do with the wound, and a deep sense of loss. He didn't fear death…never had, for the nature of his work didn't allow it, but he didn't want to leave the people he thought of as a family either.

The thought of his team brought another wave of sadness. He knew they would be sad if he died. Sure, there were many disagreements, arguments and even misunderstandings among them, but more than that was the love and care they had for each other. And then there were those he was the closest to.

Freddy and he had worked together in the same team for so long, they were almost family. They hadn't always been so friendly but over the years their familiarity had grown a lot. So much so that it was not only Freddy who cared for him but his wife too. Yes, he knew they would both feel his loss. Add to that that Freddy was an extremely emotional person. He hoped his new friends, Vivek and Tasha would help him. And of course, he was a dear to ACP sir too, so he will surely get support from there as well.

ACP sir…the only reason his accusation a few days ago had hurt him so much was that he considered him not only a senior but a mentor and a father figure too. He knew that incident would hurt his senior just as much, if not more than it had hurt him. Especially, if he died. The man had not let go of his guilt for his son's death in all these years. He hoped he didn't become another burden to bear instead of a good memory.

And then there was Abhijeet. He was the closest friend he had ever had and was as good as an elder brother to him. If he knew him well, he would take the blame for his death on himself. Worse than that, he would let nobody console him or tell him otherwise. Abhijeet was nothing if not resolute. And while that had helped him to survive and to achieve success in his professional life, it would only affect him negatively in this case. Daya remembered it like it was only yesterday, the time when Abhijeet had just recovered from that fateful incident in which he had lost his memory, or even later when he had newly joined CID again. He was seclusive and didn't show any sort of personal feelings in front of people. While he had come a long way from there, he was still a private man and opened up completely in front of only a few. And then, he wouldn't share anything too personal with them. He shared his personal feelings and thoughts with no one but him, Daya.

This is what Daya feared the most. He cared for Abhijeet deeply and didn't want him to go back to the way he had been- spirited but also filled with anger, passionate and full of emotions but seclusive. He knew ACP sir might suffer guilt too but he at least had one friend in the form of Dr. Salunkhe into whom he would confide. He knew their friendship went deep, despite all shows of annoyance. But Abhijeet…the only person he had allowed to support him was Daya himself, and what could he do once he was gone?

Daya still had regrets about his own part in the case in which Abhijeet had lost his memory, despite all the people who told him otherwise, including Abhijeet. He didn't want his friend to feel the same way he did.

Daya tried to take a deep breath but it hurt. He closed his eyes and concentrated on taking slow, shallow breaths. He did it as much to relieve the pain in his wound as he did to ignore the one that thinking about his friends caused. _This _pain could not be diminished by medicines.

He had fallen in a light daze when he heard someone call his name softly. This time he was fully conscious and didn't have problem recognizing the voice. It was Abhijeet. It took him a moment to respond due to weakness but when he looked at his friend, he could see how he was struggling to keep himself together. He saw Abhijeet look slightly relieved when he responded and he attempted a smile to reassure him, though he wasn't sure how much it worked.

"Mai, Abhi…", Abhijeet told him softly.

Daya saw his friend trying his best not to break down in front of him…trying to form some words that he suspected were meant to be reassuring. But nothing his friend could say could reassure him, not this time. He already knew his fate.

"Do...doctor…" Abhijeet tried saying again but couldn't. Daya wanted to reach out to his friend and reassure him that everything would be alright but his weak body didn't allow him to do anything. But even if he were able, what could he say? He already knew what lay ahead just as well as Abhijeet. He felt a tear slide down his cheek at the thought. And that tear told Abhijeet all there was to say. He gasped and all he could say was a strangled "Daya…" as he broke down completely.

Daya saw the moment Abhijeet realized that he had already known. It broke his heart to see his usually strong friend cry like this and not being able to do anything about it. He reached out with his hand but Abhijeet rushed off to a corner of the room. He could hear him still crying. He saw Vivek go and console him, and Abhijeet actually wiping his tears and holding himself in check. This is what he feared…that he would try to act stoic, while inside he would be hurting, and all alone with the torment that he would share with no one.

Daya couldn't help the tears that kept coming in his eyes as Freddy came and held his hand, consoling him, promising him that everything would be alright. And then came ACP sir and Dr. Salunkhe. His eyes sought his senior's as soon as he entered the room. He tried to sit up, as was his habit when he saw him, but ACP sir stopped him. Even in that moment, as ACP sir patted him gently on the head, he was relieved to see his eyes lack the suspicion, accusation and later hatred that he had seen during this case.

Unlike Abhijeet, ACP managed to try to console him with hopes that Daya didn't believe for a moment. Daya couldn't help but say, "Aap to mujhse jhooth bhi nahi bol sakte sir." He saw the smile ACP sir had kept on his face for him, leave in an instant. "Aap…pakde jate hai." He couldn't remember the last time he had seen this man cry like this. He had always seen him as unflappable…the pillar of strength, on whom everyone could depend, no matter how tough circumstances were. To see him like this was scaring, to say the least.

He could feel himself slowly loosing strength; he felt like he was floating away. He shook his head at ACP sir, silently pleading to him to have strength. ACP sir continued to reassure him though, and it seemed to Daya that he was trying to reassure himself at this moment more than him.

Then he felt a pressure on his chest and he couldn't breathe. His breaths came in short gasps, which also caused his would to ache again, despite medicinal effect. He felt himself going back to that state he had been before, where couldn't concentrate on voices or words. But at least this time he could feel the presence of the people he cared for the most and he tried to draw strength from it. He tried to keep his eyes open, to cling to this world where everything would be fine once he woke up, but it was getting more difficult with every second that passed. He felt a hand taking hold of his, the person coming in his field of vision shortly, blurred as it was getting. Abhijeet. The hand squeezed his and he tried to squeeze right back but felt no strength. There was another person holding his hand tightly. He moved his head slightly to the other side and saw ACP sir.

He could feel the darkness again…and knew that this time if he sank into it, he wouldn't wake up. Somehow, just when he thought it was all over, his whole life came back to the forefront of his mind. There were only good memories. Right now, there was no space for bad memories…they didn't matter compared to the happiness his life had given him…the happiness that his friends had given him. These very people…there, still beside him. Until the very end.

He felt calm…and completely content with the life he had lived.

Daya closed his eyes, never to open them again.


End file.
